media_artricles :: 2016

St Fort ready to debut at Carifta Games

Khalifa St Fort touched down at the Maurice Bishop International Airport here in St George's, Grenada, late on Wednesday, ready to challenge for honours at the 2016 Carifta Games.

The regional junior championships will be St Fort's first assignment since turning pro. Signed on as a brand ambassador for Flow, the 18-year-old sprinter is no longer eligible to compete on the American collegiate circuit.

St Fort's coach, Ato Boldon accompanied the 2015 World Youth Championship silver medallist to Grenada, as well as another of his young charges, Sarah Wollaston.

Boldon told the Express that foregoing collegiate eligibility was always the plan for St Fort.

"We had to make an assessment of where she was, and where we thought she'd be in a year, two years, three years. Khalifa has hit every single target, so we believe that rather than go into an unknown for four years, stay with your known and let's begin the process.

"It's a little weird," Boldon continued, "for an athlete to be turning pro without a shoe deal and in March, but it's all part of our plan. The Flow deal is not the only deal Khalifa's going to sign in the next two or three months. I guarantee you that."

St Fort, who makes her Carifta debut here in Grenada, will challenge for the Girls Under-20 100 metres and 200m titles, and will also run in the 4x100m relay. Later in the year, she is expected to represent the country at both the World Junior Championships and Olympic Games.

"My plan for Khalifa once I decided I was going to be involved in her management was that she has to be on the same path that I was on. It's not just about what you do on the track.... In 10/15 years," the quadruple Olympic medallist continued, "when you talk T&T role models, icons, legends, she must come up in that conversation. When you look at that kind of long view, you understand why she has to start now because it's a long road ahead."

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